Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study

Abstract BackgroundHealth and clinical activity data are a vital resource for research, improving patient care and service efficiency. Health care data are inherently complex, and their acquisition, storage, retrieval, and subsequent analysis require a thorough understanding o...

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Main Authors: Jo Knight, Vishnu Vardhan Chandrabalan, Hedley C A Emsley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2024-12-01
Series:JMIR Medical Informatics
Online Access:https://medinform.jmir.org/2024/1/e60017
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author Jo Knight
Vishnu Vardhan Chandrabalan
Hedley C A Emsley
author_facet Jo Knight
Vishnu Vardhan Chandrabalan
Hedley C A Emsley
author_sort Jo Knight
collection DOAJ
description Abstract BackgroundHealth and clinical activity data are a vital resource for research, improving patient care and service efficiency. Health care data are inherently complex, and their acquisition, storage, retrieval, and subsequent analysis require a thorough understanding of the clinical pathways underpinning such data. Better use of health care data could lead to improvements in patient care and service delivery. However, this depends on the identification of relevant datasets. ObjectiveWe aimed to demonstrate the application of business process modeling notation (BPMN) to represent clinical pathways at a UK neurosciences center and map the clinical activity to corresponding data flows into electronic health records and other nonstandard data repositories. MethodsWe used BPMN to map and visualize a patient journey and the subsequent movement and storage of patient data. After identifying several datasets that were being held outside of the standard applications, we collected information about these datasets using a questionnaire. ResultsWe identified 13 standard applications where neurology clinical activity was captured as part of the patient’s electronic health record including applications and databases for managing referrals, outpatient activity, laboratory data, imaging data, and clinic letters. We also identified 22 distinct datasets not within standard applications that were created and managed within the neurosciences department, either by individuals or teams. These were being used to deliver direct patient care and included datasets for tracking patient blood results, recording home visits, and tracking triage status. ConclusionsMapping patient data flows and repositories allowed us to identify areas wherein the current electronic health record does not fulfill the needs of day-to-day patient care. Data that are being stored outside of standard applications represent a potential duplication in the effort and risks being overlooked. Future work should identify unmet data needs to inform correct data capture and centralization within appropriate data architectures.
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spelling doaj-art-49847883d4954ca38bb4b8112c9ab4022024-12-31T16:01:08ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Medical Informatics2291-96942024-12-0112e60017e6001710.2196/60017Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory StudyJo Knighthttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-7148-1660Vishnu Vardhan Chandrabalanhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-2687-1096Hedley C A Emsleyhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-0129-4488 Abstract BackgroundHealth and clinical activity data are a vital resource for research, improving patient care and service efficiency. Health care data are inherently complex, and their acquisition, storage, retrieval, and subsequent analysis require a thorough understanding of the clinical pathways underpinning such data. Better use of health care data could lead to improvements in patient care and service delivery. However, this depends on the identification of relevant datasets. ObjectiveWe aimed to demonstrate the application of business process modeling notation (BPMN) to represent clinical pathways at a UK neurosciences center and map the clinical activity to corresponding data flows into electronic health records and other nonstandard data repositories. MethodsWe used BPMN to map and visualize a patient journey and the subsequent movement and storage of patient data. After identifying several datasets that were being held outside of the standard applications, we collected information about these datasets using a questionnaire. ResultsWe identified 13 standard applications where neurology clinical activity was captured as part of the patient’s electronic health record including applications and databases for managing referrals, outpatient activity, laboratory data, imaging data, and clinic letters. We also identified 22 distinct datasets not within standard applications that were created and managed within the neurosciences department, either by individuals or teams. These were being used to deliver direct patient care and included datasets for tracking patient blood results, recording home visits, and tracking triage status. ConclusionsMapping patient data flows and repositories allowed us to identify areas wherein the current electronic health record does not fulfill the needs of day-to-day patient care. Data that are being stored outside of standard applications represent a potential duplication in the effort and risks being overlooked. Future work should identify unmet data needs to inform correct data capture and centralization within appropriate data architectures.https://medinform.jmir.org/2024/1/e60017
spellingShingle Jo Knight
Vishnu Vardhan Chandrabalan
Hedley C A Emsley
Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
JMIR Medical Informatics
title Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
title_full Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
title_fullStr Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
title_full_unstemmed Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
title_short Visualizing Patient Pathways and Identifying Data Repositories in a UK Neurosciences Center: Exploratory Study
title_sort visualizing patient pathways and identifying data repositories in a uk neurosciences center exploratory study
url https://medinform.jmir.org/2024/1/e60017
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AT vishnuvardhanchandrabalan visualizingpatientpathwaysandidentifyingdatarepositoriesinaukneurosciencescenterexploratorystudy
AT hedleycaemsley visualizingpatientpathwaysandidentifyingdatarepositoriesinaukneurosciencescenterexploratorystudy